If Andy Warhol were alive today he would be totally digital. After all, Warhol embraced all forms of media in his day — recording lunchtime conversations and turning them into articles for his Interview magazine; directing avant-garde films, music videos, and SNL shorts; shooting Polaroids of the rich and famous for his portrait paintings; and using point-and-shoot cameras to document even the most mundane moments of his colorful life. Two current New York exhibitions explore Warhol as a man with a camera, that’s nearly always in hand.
Andy Warhol: Photographer at Danziger Gallery offers a slew of color Polaroids of celebrity pals — ranging from Debbie Harry, Liza Minnelli, and Sylvester Stallone to Ted Kennedy and downtown drag queens — along with photo-booth pictures of stylish New Yorkers and black-and-white snapshots of hotel dining carts, naked guys on a Montauk beach, and supermarket shelves full of cat food. Meanwhile, Warhol: Confections & Confessions at Affirmation Arts presents 8 x 10 B+W photographs from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh of subjects for paintings — including scattered eggs, a hammer and sickle, and various shadows — as well as such offbeat pictures as breast-feeding moms, still lives that feature a bug sprayer, and candid shots of Warhol posing with nuns and getting frisky on roller skates. Click through to view a selection of our favorites.
Andy Warhol, Banana, 1982, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, DEBBIE HARRY. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Room Service Tray, 1983, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, SELF-PORTRAIT. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, SYLVESTER STALLONE. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Refrigerator, 1976-82, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, KEITH HARING AND DOLLY PARTON, 1985. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, TED KENNEDY. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Shadows, c. 1978, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, ELIZABETH TAYLOR. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Still Life, c. 1975, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, SHOES. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, HOLLY SOLOMON. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, BANANAS. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol and Unidentified Women, 1982-87, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, Candy Box, 1983, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, MONTAUK. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Crabs, 1982, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, LIZA MINELLI. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Hammer and Sickle, c. 1976, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, Mother and Child, c. 1981, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, HOTEL DINING CART. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol (Roller Skating), 1979, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, DRAG QUEEN. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, CAT FOOD. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, MONTAUK CLOTHESLINE. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, BAR. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol, Hotel Bedroom, 1976-82, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, Eggs, 1982, unique vintage gelatin silver print. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Andy Warhol, JOHN LENNON. ©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ Danziger Gallery
Andy Warhol: Photographer is on view at Danziger Gallery through April 21, while Warhol: Confections & Confessions at Affirmation Arts, which is also showing some of Warhol films, runs through May 5.